Don't Know You
by Nalanzu
Summary: A not-so-routine mission right before the Chuunin Exam drags Team 7 into an unusual situation; very slight shounen ai. Completed
1. Chapter One

Naruto wrapped his arms around himself and squinted into the rising wind. "It's _cold_" he complained. 

"It is, a little," Sakura said after a few seconds when it became clear no one else was going to reply. _Why are _you_ cold?_ she thought rebelliously. _You have a jacket!_ "Kakashi-sensei?" 

Now that he had been directly addressed, their teacher tilted his head back and fixed his one visible eye languidly on Sakura. For a brief second, Sakura's shivers had nothing to do with temperature. "What is it, Sakura?" 

"It's, well, cold," she said halfheartedly. Neither Kakashi nor Sasuke seemed to notice the falling temperature in the slightest. 

"We're almost halfway back to the Hidden Leaf Village," Kakashi replied jovially. "The sooner we arrive, the sooner you'll be warm!" 

_That wasn't quite what I meant_, her inner thoughts muttered, but she didn't say it aloud. Naruto sighed loudly, and for once he had her complete sympathy. Their latest mission had been to deliver some package to a remote northern village; she'd never heard of it before and was now heartily wishing she still hadn't. As if the cold wind and even colder attitude sported – as always – by Sasuke weren't enough, the callous gods dropped yet another punishment on her shoulders. 

It began to snow. 

"Awww..." Naruto kicked at the ground without missing a stride and started complaining again. He went on for quite a while, the targets of his irritation ranging from the client – for wanting something delivered so far north, to the weather – for its inclemency, to Kakashi – for doing his job, apparently. 

Sakura ignored him outwardly, her inner thoughts divided between agreement and irritation. Eventually, she'd had enough. She opened her mouth to tell Naruto to shut the hell up. 

Sasuke beat her to it. "Hey, Dead-last. You're too loud." 

Naruto bridled instantly. He was so predictable, Sakura thought. "Hey! Hey!" he sputtered indignantly. "I'm not gonna let –" 

"Naruto. Shut up." 

The quiet words, uttered by Kakashi, had an instant effect. Naruto's head whipped around and he stared at his teacher. "Kakashi-sensei –" 

"I said, be quiet." 

Sakura glanced between the other members of her team. Both Kakashi and Sasuke appeared to be listening to something, although she wasn't sure what it was. After a few seconds, Naruto stilled as well, glancing around with a serious expression. It wasn't long before she heard it as well; someone was following them. 

"He's been there for the past few miles," Kakashi whispered, sounding like he was only a few inches from Sakura's ear. Neat trick, that. "He's moving in now. Stand ready." He altered his stride to walk at the front of the group, and Sasuke fell to the rear. Naruto moved protectively to her side, eyes scanning the trees. Sakura did the same, although it was difficult to see much of anything between the wind and the snow. 

In a flurry of movement and startled birds, something bounded across the path in front of them. None of them relaxed the tight grip they all maintained on the closest weapon as the unmistakable shape of a deer vanished into the trees. At a signal from Kakashi, the four of them stopped walking and grouped into a defensive formation. Sakura listened with her entire body, drawing on her training as a shinobi, but all sign of their stalker had vanished. After a few seconds, Kakashi motioned for them to continue walking. This time, Sasuke took point, eyes rapidly scanning the trail and surrounding area. Even so, Sakura saw it first through the driving snow. 

"What's that?" She broke the silence of the past forty minutes with a slightly rough voice, raising her hand and pointing to an odd structure visible just off the path. "I don't remember seeing that on our way up here." 

Kakashi frowned. Not that Sakura could see it, exactly, but she entertained no doubts on that score. "Those are..." he shook his head. "Ruins," he finished finally. "Old ruins." 

"We should stop," Sasuke volunteered after a glance at Sakura. "We can't see well enough to defend ourselves at this point." 

Sakura hadn't felt anyone other than Team 7 since the deer, but it was damned cold. "Sasuke-kun's right," she spoke up, and then sneezed. 

Naruto uncharacteristically didn't say anything, just stood and shivered. Kakashi sighed. He looked thoroughly unhappy about the situation, but there was nothing to be done. The lack of shelter in the middle of a blizzard could kill even shinobi. "We'll take shelter in there." He pointed to the ruins. "We'll need a fire. Sakura and I will gather wood; Naruto and Sasuke, set up what gear we have in what looks like the most protected space." 

The looks in their eyes as they nodded told Sakura that they understood he meant protection from more than just the elements. She nodded as well, and followed Kakashi into the gathering dark under the nearest trees. For a moment, she wanted to grab his wrist and drag him back to the boys, to insist that under no circumstances should they split up, but common sense held her back. They couldn't very well survive without a fire, and it would take much less time to set one up if they had space ready for the wood when they brought it back. 

It wasn't as difficult to find burnable fuel as Sakura had feared; not far from the ruins, a huge tree had succumbed to wind and age. The path of debris left from its no doubt magnificent flight downwards had left a surplus of deadwood. Kakashi's visible eye narrowed as he took in the sight, but he moved quickly and efficiently to gather enough to last for several hours. Sakura helped to the best of her abilities, the gut feeling she'd had earlier returning with renewed force. "Kakashi-sensei...." 

He turned without answer and started back towards the ruins. Sakura jogged to keep up, growing more apprehensive with each step. Surely the fallen forest giant hadn't been this far out... The stone walls loomed abruptly out of the storm, and she couldn't help but articulate a cry of relief. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" 

No answer sounded, but she hadn't really expected to hear one. They were probably further inside, and – 

A splash of orange and red in the snow caught her eye. It was the same color as Naruto's jacket; vibrant against the white, even if the snow was covering it rather more quickly than she felt comfortable with. Sakura took another few steps forward, intending to walk inside the ruins and find the place Naruto and Sasuke had decided to place their camp. Her eyes lingered on the patch of orange for just another minute, though, and she wasn't sure why. She was nearly abreast of it when she finally figured out why she couldn't take her eyes off it. 

It was moving. 

Even as realization hit, it grew still and seemed to collapse slightly in on itself. Sakura wasn't sure how, but the next thing she knew, she was kneeling beside Naruto, digging him out of the deepening snow, calling his name. 

Kakashi's voice cut across hers, and silenced her instantly. "Sasuke. Who were they?" 

Sakura's head snapped up, and she saw Sasuke leaning against the stone, holding his ribs and grimacing. "Couldn't say," he said. Blood flowed sluggishly from a cut in his forehead, obscuring one eye. 

Kakashi nodded. "Get the wood Sakura dropped." 

Sakura paused in her efforts to uncover her teammate. "Kakashi-sensei, he's –" 

"You help Naruto." Kakashi turned slowly, surveying the surrounding area. "If he's still alive." 

Stung, she resumed digging, less frantically now and more purposefully. She hauled Naruto out of the snow and threw his weight across her slender shoulders. Staggering slightly, she followed Kakashi and Sasuke inside. 

* * *

The fire burned brightly, dancing flames throwing dubious illumination in a rough circle. The once-smooth stone of the small room was now pitted and cracked, but at least it possessed most of four walls and a ceiling. The wind howled outside, loudly enough that simple conversation was difficult. Kakashi regarded Sasuke with a worried expression. "They didn't speak at all?" 

Sasuke shook his head. His skin, pale to begin with, was nearly white with cold and blood loss. Kakashi cursed himself for leaving the two boys alone; as eminently capable as both were, as high a potential as they possessed, they were still essentially children. He'd _known_ someone was following them, and yet... He'd thought that he and Sakura, exposed and outside, would be the ones in danger. Kakashi hated being wrong. "No identifying marks at all?" he pressed. 

"No," Sasuke said dully. "Or... their eyes were funny. All of them looked almost like they had slit pupils." He wrapped his arms around himself as if for warmth, and then winced. His ribs were most likely cracked at the least; they'd been bound tightly, but Sasuke needed medical attention, and Kakashi just wasn't qualified to give it to him. For a fleeting moment, he wished he were more skilled at returning life than taking it, but the moment passed. 

"Slit pupils?" he murmured, not quite meaning to say it out loud. 

Sasuke heard him. "Yeah. Like a snake or something." 

Kakashi looked at him for a moment, and then transferred his attention. "Sakura!" 

The girl in question raised her head. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" 

"How's Naruto?" Naruto hadn't suffered as much blood loss as Sasuke, but several smaller cuts graced his torso and forearms. Another bruise darkened the boy's temple; it was this that worried Kakashi the most. 

"Cold." Sakura had draped herself across the side of Naruto's body away from the fire, attempting to lend her own body heat. "We need to be home, Kakashi-sensei!" Her voice trembled slightly, but she kept herself under control. 

"He hasn't woken?" Sasuke asked quietly. 

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun." A single tear slipped down her cheek before she quelled the rest with a visible effort and returned to her former position. 

Kakashi watched Sasuke for a few seconds, noting the pain evident on the boy's usually inexpressive features. "Sit next to Sakura." 

"What?" Sasuke stared at him with an uncomprehending look. 

Despite the situation, Kakashi was almost tempted to laugh at his student's expression. "Here." He pulled Sasuke carefully to his feet, making sure not to put any more stress than necessary on Sasuke's ribs. The look of continued surprise did make him chuckle slightly. "It's cold," he said by way of explanation. "Sit up, Sakura." She did as he asked, wide-eyed. "Sasuke, lie down between Sakura and Naruto. I want you all as close as possible. And try to get some sleep." 

Neither of the two awake argued much, and after a few moments Kakashi thought he saw some of the color returning to Sasuke's face. He nodded slightly and turned his senses outside. 

He couldn't exactly feel chakra. The Hinata girl and her brother could see it, after a fashion, but he didn't have that luxury. He did possess the ability to really listen to his environment and identify each element, thus knowing when something was out of place. To someone who wasn't trained in the art of shinobi, it often seemed like magic, or something mystical, but it was simply the result of hard training and experience. 

At the moment, most of what he could hear was the storm and the sounds his team made as they slowly fell asleep. None of that told him what he needed to know, so he disregarded it and listened to the other sounds. Small rocks clattered and fell under the force of the wind, without any of the accompanying sounds of human footsteps. Trees creaked, needles and dry leaves rustling against each other, but those sounds didn't mask movement through their branches. 

Given that he had not seen nor heard any sign of their pursuers for a considerable length of time before they had attacked Sasuke and Naruto, his inability to hear them now did not reassure him. _If you don't see them, they must be there._ The jounin who had taught him after he graduated the Academy had repeated that phrase over and over. 

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke's blurred voice interrupted his thoughts. He sounded mostly asleep. 

"Yes?" 

"It was like they were... testing us..." Sasuke's eyes slipped shut again and his breathing resumed the even rhythm of sleep. 

Snow danced across the doorway, seeming for the briefest of seconds to assume a human form, but when Kakashi looked again, it had vanished. He stared for a few seconds to make sure, but the doorway was empty. He allowed his mind to return to Sasuke's surprising words. 

Testing? Testing Naruto or Sasuke? Or possibly both. The presence of the demon fox inside Naruto was not widely known outside the Hidden Leaf village, but it was possible that someone had wanted to see its power. And the Uchiha clan, along with its sole survivor, was well known in any country containing shinobi. Kakashi folded his arms across his chest and watched the snow dance across the open doorway. He would give the descriptions of the mystery shinobi to the Anbu and then see to it that his team trained as quickly as possible. A vendetta was not something to be taken lightly. 

* * *

He opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the light. It was difficult, though, because the light seemed to change with every second. He wondered if it was his eyes; in that case, he'd simply have to wait and try again later. But after a bit, he realized that the flickering of the light was a result of its source; he lay next to a fire. That explained the warmth on his side, too, which he'd been puzzled about, since the air he'd been breathing was cold. It did not explain the warmth down his other side. 

He moved his head carefully, because he didn't want to make any more noise until he knew what was going on, and also because it hurt like hell. A blue shirt filled his vision, and once he'd gotten that sorted out, he could feel whomever it was breathing gently against his lower ribs. A hand was draped over the shirt, but it was a girl's hand, and the shirt belonged to a boy. Her legs lay against his, her bare toes nestled against his skin. He could hear her breathing too; both the girl and the boy seemed to be asleep. Remaining perfectly still now, he could hear a third person in the room; this one was also asleep but was farther away, between the fire and the open door. 

He edged up on his elbows, wanting to see more but not wanting to wake anyone. He hadn't gotten far before a rush of nausea almost overwhelmed him. He clapped a hand over his mouth, but that overbalanced him and he fell backwards, still struggling against the urge to retch. 

The third person he'd heard caught him and hauled him unceremoniously to his feet and outside. The movement took away any control he'd had, and he retched into the snow until he thought everything once inside him had to be lying on the ground in front of him. The person helped him to his feet again and gave him a handful of snow without speaking. He took it gratefully and rinsed his mouth of the sour taste. 

"Back inside." It was a deep, pleasant voice. He wanted to trust it. 

Not having much choice, he leaned against the man and made his shaky way back into the relative warmth of the room in which he'd woken. The boy and girl were awake now; the girl's pink fluffy hair hung tangled down her back, as if she hadn't brushed it at all recently. The boy was pale, and he held himself as if he were in pain. A shallow gash over one eye stood out in sharp relief against the white of his skin. Both of their faces lit up when he and the man walked into the room. 

The girl launched herself forward and enveloped both of them in an enthusiastic hug, while the boy just smiled slightly. She pulled back when he didn't respond, looking puzzled. "What's wrong?" She glanced at the man beside him, then back to him. "Are you all right?" 

He nodded slowly, and stepped away from the man. The fire was warm, and he was freezing. The girl darted forward again and tried to support him as he walked. He jerked away from her, not wanting help. He sank down in front of the fire, letting the heat wash over him. 

"Hey." It was the boy. He looked up into the boy's dark eyes. For a brief second, they were familiar. "Are you sure you're all right? Naruto?" 

"Naruto?" he repeated. The name, too, was almost familiar. "Who's Naruto?" 

Three sets of stunned eyes stared back at him, apprehension clearly visible in two faces and in what he could see of the third. A sinking feeling manifested in his gut as he realized he had no idea what his own name was. 

"Am I...Naruto?"

_tsuzuku_


	2. Chapter Two

Before we get into the fic, I wanted to say thanks to everyone who took the time to review.  ^.^  Your comments are highly appreciated.  And about the shounen ai – it's _very_ slight.  Seriously.  Blink and you'll miss it.  

Enough talking from me.  ^.^  Thanks and enjoy the fic!

* * *

The snow had stopped some time before sunrise, but the clouds still hung heavy and low. Kakashi had decided that it would be best to return to the Hidden Leaf village as quickly as possible, and turn both Naruto and Sasuke over to trained medical professionals. Sasuke crossed his arms over his ribs, grimacing slightly at the warning twinges of pain. He was the one in the protected center now, while Naruto took point and Kakashi acted as the rearguard. Sakura stayed close to him; closer than she needed to, really. He didn't feel up to arguing with her, though, so he just ignored her. It was the usual order of things, after all. 

Naruto glanced back at both of them, blue eyes raking over them almost apprehensively. "Are you both all right?" He spoke very politely, almost diffidently, as if he didn't want to be noticed. 

"Fine." Sasuke scanned the trail in front of them. Kakashi had to be nuts, to let Naruto take point if he was going to just stop paying attention to their surroundings. "Look where you're going, dead-last." The words slipped over his tongue before he could catch them, and he cursed inwardly as he saw the hurt look Naruto gave him. 

"I'm sorry," Naruto whispered, and turned around. 

Sasuke opened his mouth to apologize, but he couldn't quite bring himself to speak. Naruto... would get his memory back soon enough, and then this funny feeling of protectiveness would go away again. It had started with the look of utter horror on Naruto's face when he'd asked who he was... 

_The previous evening: _

_Sasuke looked up to see Naruto and Kakashi return. Sakura, predictably, ran forward to greet Naruto in an exuberant fashion. Sasuke felt his face stretching into a smile, and he tried to quell it. Even if he was relieved to see that Naruto was all right, he couldn't let the little brat see it. It would just give him ideas. _

_It was odd, though, that Naruto didn't respond to Sakura's enthusiastic hug; he just looked at her, and when she pulled away, he walked towards the fire. When Sakura made as if to steady his not-quite-firm steps, he avoided her again. It was as if he wasn't quite sure how to respond to either Kakashi or Sakura and was instead hiding in a simple physical need. _

_That, of course, made no sense at all. He should have latched onto Sakura the moment she touched him, and called her "Sakura-chan~!" in a happy voice. For some reason, the thought made him flush slightly and his stomach twist. The expression on Naruto's face as the boy stared into the fire caught his attention. _

_"Hey." Naruto looked up, his confusion increasing. "Are you sure you're all right?" Naruto's eyes widened, and Sasuke repressed his initial urge to call him 'dead-last' and used his name instead. "Naruto?" _

_Naruto frowned. "Naruto?" he repeated, clearly not familiar with the name at all. "Who's Naruto?" _

_If Sasuke had been holding something, he would have dropped it. Kakashi and Sakura probably felt the same way, if their abrupt cessation of motion was any indication. _

_Apprehension flooded Naruto's expressive features, and Sasuke could almost see him put the pieces together. Unfortunately, before that precise moment, none of them had realized that the pieces were scattered in the first place. "Am I...Naruto?" _

_The three of them stared for a moment longer, unable to respond. It was so completely unexpected; Naruto's personality and sense of self was so strong that for it to be gone was unthinkable. Naruto just stared back, cheeks growing paler, until he finally turned back to the fire and buried his face in his arms. _

_"Oh, Naruto." Sakura darted forward again and threw an arm across his shoulders. Once again, Sasuke experienced that odd emotion. He wasn't sure what it was; surely he didn't want to be the one comforting Naruto? Sakura rubbed Naruto's shoulder in a slow circle. He turned his head to look at her, face empty. "You..." _

_Kakashi crouched on Naruto's other side; Naruto, who hadn't seen him move, flinched visibly. "How much do you remember?" Kakashi asked quietly. _

_"I... I'm not sure." It was at that point that Sasuke noticed how uncharacteristically polite Naruto's speech was. "I don't know who any of you are..." _

_"Do you know what you are?" _

_"What I am?" Naruto just looked puzzled. With no warning, Kakashi swung a hand holding a kunai towards Naruto's unprotected throat. Naruto blocked it and flipped backwards, standing in a fighting stance with his back to the wall. "Hey! Hey! What do you think you're doing, Kakashi-sensei?" As soon as he said Kakashi's name, his stance faded and he looked at his hands as if he'd never seen them. "What was that?" he asked carefully, as if trying very hard not to let his voice shake. Sasuke found himself on his feet and took a step forward, his ribs screaming at him. Jumping up had probably not been one of the more intelligent acts he'd ever performed, but it had been purely instinctive. _

_"So your reflexes still work. Good." Kakashi stood and pocketed the small knife. _

_"Reflexes? I don't understand." Naruto drew his feet closer together and wrapped his arms around himself. _

_"You..." Sasuke, in the act of cautiously sitting back down, had the impression that Kakashi was choosing his words very carefully. "You were trained in the art of the ninja by the Hidden Leaf Village. You graduated the Academy not long ago." Kakashi walked towards Naruto slowly, making no sudden moves. _

_"I did?" Naruto let himself be steered towards the fire again. "Then..." _

_"I'm Haruno Sakura," Sakura said quickly. "And this is Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke waved slightly. "Kakashi-sensei is our... mentor, I guess you could say. He's an elite ninja, a jounin. We're only genin, since we just graduated and haven't taken the chuunin exam yet. We do missions and stuff –" _

_"Naruto, please look at me." Kakashi interrupted. He shone a small light into Naruto's eyes. Evidently he was pleased by what he saw, for he made no further comment. _

_Sakura looked as if she wanted to continue talking, but something changed in her expression, and she simply smiled at Naruto instead. "We're your friends, Naruto." _

_Sasuke had the distinct impression that she wouldn't have stated that quite so clearly if Naruto had woken with his memories intact. Naruto didn't seem to pick up on that little nuance, though; he simply gave her a grateful look and returned to staring into the fire. _

_"You should sleep. All of you." Kakashi said after a few moments. "He'll be fine." Sakura closed her mouth and swallowed her protest. Sasuke frowned. He thought he remembered something about concussions and not sleeping, but Kakashi evidently knew what he was doing. _

_Naruto nodded, and curled up on the floor, still watching the flames weave around each other. Sasuke did the same, facing away from the fire and trying not to think. Naruto could take look after himself. He'd seen it; the boy had responded as quickly as he would have that morning to an unexpected attack. He didn't need Sasuke to protect him. _

_It didn't stop him from wanting to take care of Naruto. _

_Sasuke must have fallen asleep despite his aching ribs, for he awoke to hear Naruto just behind him. "What is it?" he asked sleepily, trying to contain a yawn. _

_"I- I'm sorry." Naruto backed away quickly. "I shouldn't have bothered you." _

_"No, what is it?" Sasuke kept his voice down so as not to disturb either Kakashi or Sakura, although he doubted that the former was actually asleep. _

_"I..." Naruto edged closer to him again. "I'm... afraid." _

_It was so uncharacteristic of him that Sasuke froze. The idea of a Naruto who was not self-assured to the point of arrogance was so alien that he had no idea how to respond to it, but Sasuke couldn't just do nothing. "You..." He turned over, carefully. "Here." He held an arm out. Naruto took the invitation, letting Sasuke wrap his arms around him in a gentle embrace. Sasuke had only meant to offer a brief hug, a way to let Naruto know he wasn't alone, but after a moment, Naruto's deep and even breathing told Sasuke that the other boy had fallen asleep. Sasuke sighed, and let him stay there. It was easier than waking him up, and besides, it wasn't unpleasant._

"We're almost there, Naruto," Sakura's excited voice interrupted his recollection. "See the smoke? That's the Hidden Leaf village, just up there." 

Naruto murmured a vague assent. Sasuke could see the tension in the line of his shoulders; Naruto was not looking forward to arriving home. 

"We'll take you home first thing," Sakura bubbled. "Maybe you can –" 

"We should take him to a hospital, so we know he won't drop dead or anything," Sasuke broke in. 

"Oh. Right." Sakura blushed. "After that, we can take him home." 

Naruto didn't answer, other than to nod silently. It was disconcerting, this new and quiet Naruto. Sasuke found himself almost missing the loud and overconfident idiot his teammate had been the day before. 

The village was quieter than it should have been, but the wind and the precipitation – which had turned to an intermittent chilly rain – were more than likely to blame. Sasuke stumbled slightly on the smooth ground, and Sakura was at his side in an instant. Gritting his teeth, he allowed her to help him. They stepped through the open gate, nodding to the shinobi stationed on either side. Naruto turned around, directing his gaze past Sasuke. "Kakashi-sen..." His voice trailed off. "Where did he go?" 

One of the guards answered the rhetorical question. "To talk to the Hokage, kid. Go on." 

Naruto frowned. "Wouldn't he have..." he started. 

"Kakashi-sensei does stuff like this all the time," Sakura assured him. 

"But wouldn't he have told us –" 

"Naruto. Let's go." Sasuke started walking again, leading the way towards the hospital. 

* * *

Naruto – he still didn't feel comfortable thinking of himself as Naruto – followed his teammates through the quiet village. Few people were outside, braving the stinging rain, and he didn't blame them for staying inside. Team 7 – for that was what Sakura had told him was their official designation – was thoroughly soaked and chilled. It was odd, too, that no one commented on their arrival, he thought. But Sakura and Sasuke undoubtedly knew this place much better than he did, so he said nothing. 

The village itself wasn't bad-looking, he supposed, but he had no memories to compare it to. And even if he did, they would be of this same place, and... It wasn't relevant anyway. Naruto sneezed at the exact moment Sakura and Sasuke stopped, and ran right into Sasuke's back. Sasuke yelped before he could bite down on the exclamation, and stumbled into Sakura. She steadied him, and glanced back at Naruto. "Are you okay?" 

"Yes," he replied softly. "It's just cold," he added, when she narrowed her eyes. "Really." 

"It's in here." Sakura gestured with her free hand. Naruto followed her inside, not really listening while she explained what was wrong. He noted the exits and the entrances inside each room to which he was directed for the battery of tests performed, and assessed the movements of the people around him. 

It just didn't feel right. 

Everyone who spoke to him seemed like they were running on some sort of autopilot; they smiled and asked questions and gave instructions and acted appropriately worried, but none of it seemed real. Eventually they finished the testing and told him he could go home, that nothing was seriously wrong with him outside his lack of memory. He'd have to wait for further test results in any case, and it made no sense to keep him in the hospital. Naruto got the feeling that they were trying to get rid of him as quickly as possible. 

He pulled his tattered jacket back on and trotted down the stairs to the lobby. Both Sakura and Sasuke were inside still. For a moment, he thought they'd been waiting for him, and then he saw a nurse approaching Sasuke. "You will most certainly not walk home! You are staying here! You need to stay as still as possible until your ribs heal, and you're not going to be able to do that alone in your house." 

Sasuke looked at her coolly. "I'm not going to be alone. He's staying with me." He waved a hand in Naruto's general direction. 

Naruto's mouth dropped open. Shouldn't Sasuke have consulted him on this? The nurse turned to look at him, and he closed his mouth with a snap. 

"U-Uzumaki's staying with you?" she managed in a strangled voice. 

"That's right." Sasuke's expression didn't change. "You may give him any instructions." 

The nurse sighed loudly, but she handed Naruto a sheet of paper. "See that he takes this, and this, twice a day, starting tonight. Read this thoroughly." She looked as if she would skin him alive if he didn't follow her instructions, ninja training or no ninja training. And despite Kakashi-sensei placing him on point that morning, he wasn't at all secure in his abilities as a ninja. 

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. She, at least, seemed more real than anyone else to whom he'd spoken. 

Sakura excused herself shortly before they reached Sasuke's place, giving Sasuke a careful hug and tousling Naruto's hair. After promising to check on them both the following day, she jogged off down a side street. Naruto watched her go, feeling slightly uneasy. 

"This way." Sasuke tapped Naruto's hand. "Come on." 

Naruto jumped slightly and followed him, feeling a bit guilty for making Sasuke stand around when he was obviously in pain. "Are you sure you want me staying with you?" he asked. 

"Of course." 

"Why?" Naruto ventured after a few moments, when it became clear that Sasuke wasn't going to offer any type of explanation on his own. 

"You don't live with anyone either." Sasuke pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked a door. "Besides," he added, "it's easier to have you stay with me than to show you where everything is." 

"Oh." Sasuke kept his living quarters nearly spotlessly clean, but from what Naruto had seen of him, it was only to be expected. "Um..." 

"Bath, kitchen, you're sleeping here." Sasuke pointed in rapid succession. 

"Thank you." 

"And you can wear my clothes until Sakura can get you some of yours." Sasuke limped into another room. "In the closet." He waved a hand vaguely. 

"Thank you," Naruto repeated again. The sheaf of papers he'd received from the nurse rustled in his hand, and he looked down at it. "Um, Sasuke-san..." 

Sasuke looked up from the bed. "Don't call me that." 

Naruto flushed. "Ah, sorry. But the nurse said for you..." 

"I'm fine." Sasuke closed his eyes. 

"I see." Naruto glanced over the instructions he'd been given. If Sasuke was going to be stubborn about taking care of himself, he'd have to resort to subterfuge. It was the least he could do for someone who'd been so kind to him. Even if they were friends, he had no memory of it. "You should at least drink something." 

Sasuke opened one eye and regarded him with a quizzical look. "If you want." 

Tea was easy enough to find and make, and enough sugar in it disguised the taste of the medicine Sasuke was supposed to be taking. 

"I should have known you'd drink your tea sweet," Sasuke muttered after he tasted it. 

"I'm sorry... should I make more?" Naruto made as if to get up. Sasuke would drink the contents of that mug if it took him all night to do it. In a way, he was using Sasuke in order to avoid thinking about himself; focusing on another person prevented panicking about a life he knew nothing about. 

"No." Sasuke drained the mug as quickly as he could. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome." Naruto retrieved the mug, and pulled the blanket over Sasuke. 

"Don't bother. In a few minutes, we're..." he yawned. Within a few moments, he had fallen asleep. Naruto grinned and flashed the victory sign at no one in particular before turning off the light and withdrawing from the room. 

Unfortunately, now that he had nothing else to occupy himself with, his thoughts turned inward. 

Nothing in the village looked even remotely familiar; none of the people, none of the places. The way they treated him felt strange; as if it were off by a beat. He wondered if it was because he didn't remember them, or if it was something else. Then again, neither Sakura nor Sasuke had mentioned anything strange. Perhaps Kakashi-sensei would have some insight. 

Naruto left a note for Sasuke telling him not to move and that he'd be back shortly. He didn't think Sasuke was the type to sit still in any case, but hopefully the note would keep him from worrying. If Sasuke ever worried, that was. 

Once outside Sasuke's house, though, Naruto realized he had no idea where to go. Retracing his steps to the gate, he approached one of the guards and politely cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He had the sudden irrational urge to throw wet paint at the guard. 

The guard turned and looked at him coldly. For a brief second, Naruto wondered if the guard had read his thoughts. He shook his head slightly. "I'm looking for Kakashi-sensei. Can you tell me where to find him?" 

"What do I look like, kid, a map? You know damned well where your teacher lives." 

"Can you give me directions?" Naruto persisted, confused by the guard's reaction. 

Sighing loudly, the guard complied, rattling off a list of directions rapidly and quietly. Naruto nodded, not wanting to ask the guard to repeat himself. 

As it turned out, he remembered what the man said without difficulty; memorization must be a part of shinobi training, he thought vaguely. The irony did not strike him as humorous. But when he reached what must have been his teacher's dwelling, it was empty. The name "Hatake Kakashi" was written above the door, leaving no doubt in Naruto's mind that he'd reached the right place. He was considering breaking in to look around when a voice from behind caught his attention. 

"Naruto-kun?" 

He turned around. A girl with short dark hair and pale lilac eyes was looking at him apprehensively. 

"That's what they tell me my name is," he said lightly. The girl wore a shinobi headband; she had to be another ninja. 

"Oh!" she blushed. "It _is_ you. You move differently, I wasn't sure..." her voice trailed off and she looked down. She was very shy, apparently. 

"Um... do you know where I can find Kakashi-sensei?" he blurted out, not sure exactly how to deal with the girl. 

"He's..." She waved a hand vaguely. "He's with the Hokage. I think there's a mission that he's got to take." 

Naruto frowned. "Isn't Team 7 supposed to accompany Kakashi-sensei on missions? I mean, isn't that how we get experience?" Sakura had told him about this, too. 

"Well..." She squirmed slightly. She looked almost like he was subjecting her to an inquisition instead of a few simple questions. "This one... is A rank. Or something." 

Well, that didn't mean anything to him. "Do you know where I can find the Hokage?" he asked. 

"I, um, guess I could take you there." 

He nodded. "Thank you." 

She smiled again, and darted off. Unfortunately, he somehow lost her between a set of buildings, and was unable to find her again. There weren't that many people on the streets, but he couldn't see her at all, and when he tried to find someone else, the street emptied. There were people, but somehow he couldn't catch up to any of them. After several minutes of trying, he could feel his headache from earlier returning and resolved to try again the next day. 

Sasuke was still asleep when he returned. Naruto crept quietly into the other room so as not to disturb him and curled up to think and plan the next day. He didn't notice when his thoughts drifted into sleep.

_tsuzuku_


	3. Chapter Three

Once again, thank you to all who reviewed.  ^.^  Sustenance of the writer or something.  The italics in this first part are flashback sequences.  Enjoy!

* * *

_"Hey, Sasuke, what about here?" Naruto wrapped his arms around himself and jerked his chin in the general direction of a likely looking pile of rubble. _

_"No." Sasuke glanced around coolly. The temperature didn't seem to be affecting him at all. It really wasn't fair. "Here." He walked through a doorway into a relatively intact room. "It's defensible." _

_Naruto rolled his eyes but put his small pack down beside Sasuke's. "Come on, Sasuke, let's go find Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chaaaaan. It's _cold_." _

_Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, but the words he had intended never crossed his lips. Instead, he dove for Naruto and knocked them both to the snow-covered ground. "Look out!" The words came too late, delivered after they had hit the ground and separated. _

_"Whaaa…?" Naruto started to ask, but the veritable hailstorm of shuriken forestalled his question. His hand darted to his own shuriken, but between the snow and the wind, he was unable to find a target. "Where are they? Sasuke!" _

_"I can't see!" Sasuke shouted back. _

_Naruto glanced over his shoulder. Sasuke's face was covered in blood, and one of his hands was desperately trying to clear it out of his eyes. Naruto tried to move into a protective position, but a blow from behind threw him to the ground and knocked the air out of his lungs. He gasped, trying to draw breath, and was completely unable to defend himself against the following attacks. The pain lanced through him, but he was suddenly able to breathe. With a shout, he leapt to his feet and launched a rain of shuriken towards his barely-seen opponents just as Sasuke knocked the last one aside, eyes still squeezed shut. _

_The sounds of their attackers faded into the wind, and Naruto took up a defensive crouch behind Sasuke. "Can you see?" _

_"A little." _

_"Can you see them?" _

_"No." Sasuke shifted his weight slightly, and Naruto realized he'd been injured. _

_"Are you all right?" He was worried now. _

_"Fine." Sasuke didn't sound fine, and that meant Naruto was going to have to cover for him in the upcoming fight. _

_A hint of sound off to Naruto's left was all the warning he had before their attackers leapt out at them again. He caught a glimpse of them this time; long dark hair caught in dozens of tiny braids framed pale narrow faces dominated by catlike green eyes. They all looked identical; each pair of slit-pupilled eyes narrowed in the same menacing expression. Naruto took all of it in within the split second before they were upon the both of them and he had to concentrate on simply staying alive. _

_It was over quickly; he was immobilized, vision blurry from a blow to the head and nauseous on top of it. He swallowed thickly. _

_"We're almost ready." The voice was sibilant, like a snake. Naruto grunted as someone grabbed his hair and yanked upwards. A pair of yellow eyes filled his vision, but he could still see the smirk below them. The eyes came closer, and a voice began to chant. Fire swept through him, excruciatingly painful, and he screamed. _

_"Satisfactory, indeed. With the power here, the Leaf will be the first to fall." _

_Naruto writhed in agony. He had to get away, had to warn Kakashi-sensei, had to stop them from harming the Hidden Leaf Village… Even as the thoughts crossed his mind, he spiraled down into a darkness comprised of fire and pain._

* * *

Sakura slapped Naruto hard across the face for the third time, hoping that this time it would work. It did. Blue eyes snapped open, staring uncomprehendingly at her. She shook his shoulders slightly, and understanding flooded back into his face. 

"S-Sakura-chan?" He sat up abruptly, nearly knocking her over. 

"Naruto!" He hadn't called her "Sakura-chan" since the incident two days before. "Are you all right?" 

He put a hand over his eyes. "I… I was dreaming… Fire and eyes and…" He froze, and an expression of horror spread over his features. "Sasuke!" 

"He's fine," Sakura tried to say, but Naruto all but shoved her aside in his rush towards Sasuke. She followed more slowly, frustrated and relieved at the same time. She'd come to check on both of them that morning, but no one had answered the door. When she went inside, she found both of them still sleeping. She had been about to write a note when Naruto had started screaming incoherently. She had gone rushing into his room, sure he was under attack, but it had apparently been just a nightmare. He'd been hard to wake, though, and that had worried her. She sighed. Whatever it had been, he appeared to be just fine now. 

Sakura walked into Sasuke's bedroom to find Naruto kneeling beside the bed, gently stroking Sasuke's dark hair out of his eyes. She hung back, oddly reluctant to interrupt the scene. Sasuke was still deeply asleep, but as Naruto bent over him, they both seemed caught in some moment outside of time, as though they were real while nothing around them was more than a flimsy illusion. 

The moment passed, and Sakura cleared her throat softly. Naruto jumped at the sound, turning to face her in an automatic defensive stance. She just looked at him, and after a few seconds he blushed and relaxed. "Sorry," he muttered. 

She smiled. "It's all right." Then, curiously, "What did you dream about, Naruto?" 

He shook his head. "I don't remember." 

"You were, um, I mean, you… looked like you were having a pretty bad nightmare." She just barely stopped herself from asking if he'd ever had them before. 

"I don't _remember_!" It was more than just the dream. Sakura looked on helplessly at Naruto's deep frustration. 

"Maybe next time," she said lightly, trying to defuse the tension. 

"Yeah," Naruto replied. He sounded more like the old Naruto than he had the day before; his speech was reverting to the less polite dialect he'd been scolded for several times as a child. He made an attempt at a smile, failing miserably. 

"Oh!" Sakura motioned Naruto to follow her. "I brought these for you." She pointed to a cheerful pile of bright orange clothing she'd left on the kitchen counter. 

"Ah, thank you." Naruto picked them up, and Sakura watched for some sign of recognition. There was none. "I'll, um, change and be right back, Sakura." 

"That won't be necessary." 

Naruto dropped the clothes and turned to face the window and the newcomer in it, automatically pushing Sakura behind him. "Who are you?" 

"Ryu. Pleased to meet you." The ninja leapt lightly down from the windowsill and gave them an ironic little bow. "You must be Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura." 

"What do you want?" All of Naruto's attention appeared to be on the man in front of them, so Sakura watched the ninja out of the corner of her eye while scanning the rest of the room for signs of other intruders. She didn't recognize this man at all, but his easy familiarity implied that he was indeed a resident of the Hidden Leaf Village. 

"I've been assigned to the retraining of one Uzumaki Naruto. I was also given a message for Haruno Sakura – you have a solo mission. You're leaving right away. The details will be given to you on the way to the gate." 

"What about Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked, still not looking directly at Ryu. "Shouldn't he be the one to retrain Naruto? Or at least reorient him?" 

"Ah, he's been reassigned elsewhere." For the first time, Ryu seemed slightly discomfited. "No worries, I'll take good care of the kid." 

Naruto made a small sound of irritation at being called a child. "And Sasuke?" 

"He'll be in good hands. Come on, you have a lot to relearn." Ryu climbed back out the window, pausing impatiently. 

Naruto turned to look at Sakura. She took a deep breath and nodded. She'd try to find Kakashi-sensei again after she finished her mission. 

Naruto smiled slightly and followed Ryu out the window. Sakura picked the clothes up off the floor and replaced them on the table before adding to the note for Sasuke when he woke up. She left it within easy reach, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze before departing as well. 

* * *

As it turned out, it was more than four days before Sakura returned to check on Naruto and Sasuke. During those four days, she was given at least two separate missions per day and once she was given three. While none of her duties were particularly challenging, they were exhausting and left her unable to devote any time at all to anything else. 

Despite the haze of exhaustion that slowly settled over her, Sakura began to notice that certain… things… weren't right. For one thing, there was almost no one on the village streets. Even during winter, the streets should have been full of people. And she barely recognized any of the people she did see; Kakashi was nowhere to be found, for example. Neither was Iruka, or the Hokage, and those two, at least, should have been the ones giving her her missions. 

More oddly still, the composition of the village seemed to alter slightly every time she walked through it. Side streets blurred and shifted when she wasn't looking, but she couldn't say for certain what exactly had changed. It was impossible for solid ground to change, though, and after the second day she simply put it down to simple tiredness and ignored it. She couldn't quite push the growing unease aside, though, no matter how hard she tried. 

* * *

"Sasuke?" Naruto walked into Sasuke's bedroom quietly. As on all the other days, the shinobi detailed to watch Sasuke gave him a little smile and a wave before leaving. It had been a different person each day. Naruto approached the bed. 

Sasuke was asleep, breathing deep and even. Naruto had worried about this after not really seeing Sasuke awake for more than a few minutes in the mornings, but the medically trained shinobi had told him that it was fairly normal and that the extra energy would give Sasuke more of a chance to recover quickly. Naruto wasn't quite sure he trusted the explanation. He didn't have anyone to confirm or deny it, though, as Sasuke himself was the object of his worries and Sakura hadn't shown up since the second day back in the village. When he inquired about _her_, he was invariably told that she was performing important duties. He felt as if everyone were brushing him aside, but he had nothing concrete to base his feelings on. 

"It's been a long day, Sasuke." He'd sort of grown accustomed to speaking to Sasuke's unresponsive form over the past few days, the words providing an outlet for his emotions. "Ryu is disturbing and I don't know why. He keeps staring at me as if he were looking inside me or something. And I keep having these dreams that I know are somehow related to whoever attacked us, but I can't remember them. Every time I wake up, I know I've forgotten something important. It's frustrating." Naruto shook his head and continued the process of removing his filthy training clothes and hunting down clean ones. "I kinda wish you'd wake up so you could tell me if these weird things are just me or if they really are weird." He glanced over at Sasuke, who hadn't so much as twitched. "I think I just wish you'd wake up, period. I wish I knew how you were really doing. You look better after you take the medicine, though, even if it does make you fall asleep, so I guess it's helping some." He brushed a loose bit of thread off Sasuke's cheek and rearranged the blanket. "I'm going to take a bath now, but if you wake up, yell for me and I'll be right here." 

When he returned from the bath, wet hair tangled into an unmanageable mess, Sasuke's eyes were half-open. Naruto knelt down beside the bed with practiced ease. "Hey, how are you feeling?" He tried to project warmth and reassurance into his voice. 

"Okay." Sasuke's voice was slurred; he wasn't properly awake. "What…" He seemed slightly more coherent than he usually was in the evening, though, which was encouraging. 

"Your ribs are broken; stay still." Naruto had told him this before, but it didn't seem to really sink in. 

"Broken?" Sasuke blinked, pupils dilated so far Naruto couldn't see the irises, and tried to sit up. 

"You're going to be fine." Naruto carefully pushed him back down. "Lie still." 

Sasuke smiled up at him, expression completely open. "Glad… you're here." He yawned, and between one minute and the next he fell back into sleep. 

Naruto watched him for a few minutes, and buried his face in his hands. "I feel helpless, Sasuke. I hate feeling helpless." 

* * *

On the morning of the sixth day since their return from the disastrous mission up north, Sakura woke with her nebulous fears and doubts solidified in a mass in the pit of her stomach. She lay staring at the ceiling for a moment, then decisively threw off the blanket and calmly went about her morning routines. Upon leaving the house, she cut around back and made for Sasuke's residence, keeping to the shadows and moving as silently as only a shinobi could. 

She encountered no resistance on her way, which did not serve to lessen her apprehension in the slightest. Something was wrong, and it had been since the mission up north. She hadn't wanted to admit that none of them had noticed, but it was rapidly becoming unavoidable. Sakura slipped into a window in the back of the house and secured it behind her. She moved silently towards the front of the house, listening for signs of anyone around her. 

The house held two occupants, she decided, both asleep or otherwise unconscious. She locked the front door and did her best to ensure that anyone else coming inside would set off some type of noise and thereby give her at least a few seconds of warning, holding shuriken in her left hand during the entire operation. It took less than ten minutes altogether. 

Sakura took a deep breath and slunk towards the closer of the two boys; it happened to be Naruto. He was sprawled on his back, legs entangled in the blankets. Sakura woke him by putting a hand over his mouth. He opened his eyes instantly, hand going under his pillow. Presumably he had a weapon hidden there. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. When he saw who it was, he started to speak, but Sakura held a finger over her lips and he fell silent. She removed her hand, and he pulled a kunai out from underneath the pillow, bouncing it around his fingers. 

"What's going on?" he whispered. 

"I'm not sure." 

He gave her an incredulous look at that, but pulled on his clothes with surprising swiftness. They were, she noted, a nondescript brownish gray that would fade into a variety of different backgrounds. The orange remained hanging neatly in his closet. She nodded approvingly and motioned towards Sasuke. 

So far, none of her traps had been triggered. That didn't stop her from carefully listening to her environment; the fact that she hadn't noticed anything meant nothing. Naruto followed suit, still bouncing the kunai around the fingers of his right hand. 

Sasuke was also asleep, but unlike Naruto, he failed to rouse despite all Sakura's efforts. Frustrated, she turned to Naruto. He shrugged. 

"I haven't seen him awake since before the last time I saw you," he whispered. "At least, not more than to give him his medication." 

Part of the feeling of dread crystallized, and Sakura resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. "What medication?" 

Naruto held up a small bottle after a moment of rummaging around. "Every morning." 

Sakura snatched the bottle. After a moment of scanning it, she set it down carefully. She would much rather have thrown it through the window. "That's not medication." 

"Uh oh." One thing about this new Naruto; he caught on rather more quickly than the old one had. Maybe it was because he wasn't so obsessed with proving his worth. "What is it?" 

"You've been drugging him; I'll be surprised if he isn't addicted after this." Sakura cursed softly. "That's the least of our worries, though." 

"Then I was right. There's something going on." Naruto slammed a fist into his palm. "I knew I should have said something to you, but I figured it was just my… well, memory playing tricks on me. Or something." 

"What would you have said?" She was curious; perhaps Naruto had seen something she missed. 

He blushed slightly. "It was the dreams. The nightmares. They keep getting worse, and I can almost remember them when I wake up. But it just slips away." He shook his head. "They leave me with the feeling that I'm forgetting something very, very important. And then I look around and nothing seems right. But I thought it was just because…" He touched the side of his forehead self-consciously. "So I didn't say anything at all." 

"I wish you had." Sakura returned her attention to Sasuke. "I think we have to get out of here, and fast. But it's not going to be easy with Sasuke like this." 

Naruto nodded. "If you can get him dressed, I'll carry him." 

It was harder than she would have thought; Sasuke was a complete deadweight. He was clean, which she didn't notice at first and then noted with a touch of surprise. Then again, Ryu had said that Sasuke would be taken care of. She grimaced. It was ridiculous, to go to the trouble of incapacitating one's enemy and then making sure he was properly cared for. Sakura probed along Sasuke's ribs; they weren't healed completely, not this soon, but if she bound them tightly, he'd probably be all right. 

"Ready?" Naruto asked. 

Sakura nodded, and helped position Sasuke across Naruto's shoulders. He hadn't so much as twitched since she'd walked in the room; it was rather unsettling. 

The village was completely empty when they stepped outside. Not only that, but it had the look of something that had been deserted for years. Cobwebs liberally decorated the open doorways, and dust had settled thickly on the surfaces protected from the wind. The positions of several buildings had changed, too, altering the village's layout considerably. Sakura exchanged glances with Naruto. Wherever they were was certainly not Hidden Leaf Village.

_tsuzuku_


	4. Chapter Four

_Thanks again to all those who reviewed!  Please enjoy this next part. ^.^_

* * *

Naruto glanced at Sakura. Her face was nearly white. He clenched his jaw and began observation of their surroundings. For once in his life – and memory or no memory, he was certain on this score – he really, really hadn't wanted to be right. Ryu had looked oddly familiar, but he'd put it down to his lack of memories. Something, though, had made it impossible for him to ever truly relax in the company of his supposed teacher, and that certainly shouldn't have been the case. 

The people of the village, too, had been off. Stilted, like puppets in a badly written play. But he'd simply interpreted it as distaste for his company after asking Sasuke why it was that no one had wanted to talk to him for more than a few seconds at a time. Sasuke hadn't been more than half awake, but he'd confirmed that no, the people of the village did not hold Naruto in particularly high regard, and that had been the end of it. 

"Kkh. I should have seen it anyway," he muttered, shifting Sasuke's weight. Nothing around them was moving; no people, no birds, not even insects. It was fundamentally wrong. 

"If anyone should have seen what was going on, it should have been me," Sakura replied. 

He hadn't been speaking to her. "We have to get out of here." 

Sakura nodded. "The gate used to be over there. We should try it first." 

It seemed too obvious; after all, it was the first place anyone would try. But it wasn't as if they had much choice in the matter, since it was thoroughly unfamiliar terrain. Or rather, it was partially familiar, which made it more dangerous than if they hadn't known anything about it at all. Subconscious expectations tended to affect the choices made more than anyone really realized. Naruto nodded back. "The gate it is." 

The look she gave him told him she'd had the same thoughts he had just gone over, and reached the same conclusions. "Good luck." She nodded, and took off running. 

Sasuke wasn't easy to carry. Naruto had to compensate and recompensate at every step, trying to protect Sasuke without knowing what to protect him from. Sakura ranged back and forth in front of him, doing her best to protect _him_. Even so, when the attack came, they were completely unprepared for it. 

The gate loomed in front of them, standing with one door closed and the other fallen halfway off its hinges. Part of the wall had crumbled around it, but it would be possible to climb fairly easily. 

"Wait here," Sakura whispered. Naruto nodded. She would check the area directly past the gate, and then return for them. Sakura scrambled over the debris, pausing part of the way down, then vanishing from sight. She returned a few minutes later, and between the two of them they managed to get Sasuke over the wall. He still hadn't shown the slightest sign of consciousness, and Naruto began to worry. There wasn't anything he could do about it, though, so he gritted his teeth and climbed over the rubble himself. Just as his feet hit the ground, a fist slammed into his jaw and sent him skidding backwards. 

Naruto turned his uncontrolled slide into a tumble and came up on his feet, kunai in hand. No one was there, except Sakura crouched warily over Sasuke. "Where?" 

Sakura shook her head. "I didn't see!" She pulled Sasuke over her shoulders in a single smooth movement. "Come on!" 

Naruto rubbed a hand over his jaw. She seemed different somehow. He nodded and followed her into the forest, keeping his knives ready. Sakura seemed to know exactly where she was going, which made sense for all of about thirty seconds. She hadn't been gone long enough to have explored farther than that, and she shouldn't know the territory any better than he did. Then he noticed her headband. It was black, instead of navy blue. Naruto narrowed his eyes and launched himself at her, pulling Sasuke out of her surprisingly strong grip. 

She smirked. "You catch on pretty slow. You sure you're a ninja?" 

Naruto propped Sasuke against one of the many trees. "Where is she?" 

"As if I'd tell you." The not-Sakura tossed pink hair out of her eyes. "What would it get me? Nothing." 

Dropping into a fighting stance was nearly instinctive, but despite his "retraining" with Ryu, Naruto knew no more about fighting now than he had after awakening to find his memory gone. "Where is she?" he repeated. 

"Still stubborn." Not-Sakura sighed. "I will tell you one thing, though. To get her, you have to go through me, and frankly, I don't think you have it in you." She smirked, and he knew who she was. 

"Ryu." 

"Oh, you think you caught me." Not-Sakura bowed mockingly, and the guise of "Sakura" fell away to be replaced by a face that had become unwillingly familiar over the past few days. Ryu tossed his many braids out of his face and bound them up unconcernedly. "Little Naruto." 

Behind Naruto, Sasuke finally stirred. "N'ruto…?" 

"Stay down," Naruto hissed desperately. 

Ryu laughed. "Oh, he's got great timing, that one." Without losing his smile, he darted towards Sasuke. 

"Oh no you don't." Naruto was pretty sure that Sasuke was still Sasuke; there was no point in replacing someone who was already so incapacitated as to be a handicap to his teammates. He was almost directly between Ryu and Sasuke, though. What the hell was Ryu trying to pull? 

The trap sprung without any warning at all, yanking Naruto off his feet and startling him into dropping his knives. "You bastard!" he shouted, partially to distract Ryu and partially because he was irritated at being caught in any type of trap. A vague memory of Kakashi-sensei's smirk as Naruto was caught during some sort of test surfaced. He gasped in surprise. 

"…_a ninja must look for the underneath beneath the underneath_…" 

He could practically hear Kakashi-sensei admonishing him. The words echoed in his skull, accompanied by searing pain. He clutched his skull, swinging back and forth, glaring as best he could at Ryu. 

Ryu looked slightly displeased. "Oh, come now, we can't have this. It's much much too soon." He stood over Sasuke, who was trying with a notable lack of success to climb to his feet, and shoved him down effortlessly. Sasuke snarled incoherently, still trying to stand up. 

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on shoving his returning memories away. It was as if a floodgate had been opened; snatches of conversation, images, feelings, sounds all poured over him. And it was painful; some part of him was trying to keep those memories out and the rest of him wanted them back. He couldn't deal with them; despicable though it was, Ryu was right, if not for the reasons he thought he was. Now was not the time. Naruto had to be able to fight in order to save Sasuke and Sakura, if it wasn't already too late. 

One image suddenly stood out – Ryu's frown, the words "It's much too soon." And with that, Naruto gained a flash of insight. 

Naruto's eyes snapped open. "You _bastard_!" he growled, and this time he meant it. "You put a sealing jutsu on my memory!" 

Ryu's face registered shock for the briefest second before he regained control. "What would I have to gain?" he countered almost lazily, and kicked Sasuke in his still-healing ribs. Sasuke made an odd sort of choked-off whimper and lay still. "Really, Naruto. I expected more from you." His voice held tension, though, and Naruto could hear it. 

"Don't touch him!" The kick had been more of an attempt to distract Naruto than anything else. Naruto let Ryu think he had been successfully distracted, mildly surprised at how close he came to actually losing his cool. "Fight me! Me!" He could feel the energy of the sealing jutsu, now, and he knew how to counter it. 

"I'd love to give you a fight, Naruto." Ryu shrugged, trying to keep his tone light and amused. "But you're rather tied up at the moment." 

Naruto settled for shooting Ryu a hate-filled glare. It was remarkably easy, all things considered. He almost had himself free of the jutsu now. 

"You don't think that was funny?" Ryu sighed theatrically. "Everyone's a critic." He threw Sasuke over his shoulder, eliciting another stifled cry of pain. "I have business to attend to." 

The energy of the jutsu fell away, and the pain vanished. Information washed over Naruto in a wave, threatening to overwhelm him even without Ryu's jutsu hindering and entangling it. He forced it downwards, knowing he could examine it later, and pulled out the relevant pieces. 

In that instant, everything became blindingly clear. 

"You!" He recognized Ryu now as one of those who had attacked Sasuke and himself on their return from the North. One of those who had tortured both of them, mentally if not physically, for reasons he had yet to discern. He knew it had to be something to do with the destruction of the Hidden Leaf. He knew, too, that he was the only one who possessed this crucial information, and that it was absolutely imperative that he return to Hokage-sama with it. 

"Oh dear." Ryu shook his head. "I suppose I have to kill you now." He dropped Sasuke and threw an arc of kunai at Naruto in the same elegant movement. Naruto swung himself upwards and grabbed the rope, climbing just barely faster than Ryu's kunai. Once at the top of the rope, he extracted one of his own blades from the sheath on his right leg and cut the trap off. He dodged the next set of Ryu's kunai only to find himself flat on his back, a dull ache in his jaw. Ryu unclenched his fist, still smiling slightly. Naruto leapt to his feet, rapidly positioning his hands for a fallback on the ultimate distraction. 

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" 

"That's not going to help you, boy." The edge was back in Ryu's voice, as if he were sure he was going to win now. 

"It's not meant to help me," Naruto muttered under his breath. He'd seen a flash of pink hair – Sakura – and two of his clones were busy taking both her and Sasuke to somewhere safer while the rest milled around in seeming confusion. 

"You can't possibly beat me." Ryu threw clones aside left and right, taking no notice as they dematerialized into puffs of smoke. The worst thing was that he was right. There was no way for Naruto to beat this man. 

He was still going to try. 

He readied his last three kunai, two in his right hand and one in his left. At least Sasuke was safe now. The last clone vanished, taking his chakra with it. Naruto dropped into a defensive crouch as Ryu strode towards him. The two kunai in his right hand flew in perfect arcs, one aimed directly at Ryu's heart and the other in the path he was most likely to take as he dodged. Ryu batted the first kunai aside and stepped right into the path of the second. He raised his hand to block it as well, but then his eyes widened fractionally as he suddenly paused and it slipped past his hand to strike deep. Naruto stopped in mid-rush, last kunai now held in his right hand, staring as if transfixed at the blade embedded in Ryu's chest. 

Ryu turned his gaze on the kunai, expression sliding into horror, and then at Naruto. He brought trembling hands up, to perform some type of seal, and Naruto's paralysis broke. He ran forward to stop Ryu, but the seal was completed before he got there and Ryu seized Naruto's wrist. Naruto felt an impact over his entire body and the world went suddenly black. 

_tsuzuku_


	5. Chapter Five: Conclusion

Heya.  Sorry for the slight delay in posting.  I gained another year this weekend, so it was a bit busy.  I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion to this little story.

…yes, conclusion.  This is the last chapter.  Have fun.  ^.^

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to see Kakashi bending over him. 

"You're late, Kakashi-sensei," he said automatically. 

For once, Kakashi didn't respond with an outrageous excuse. Naruto had the distinct and rare pleasure of surprising his teacher. "You remember!" 

"Of course I remember. Leggo of me." Naruto sat up with some difficulty. "Hey, weren't we in the middle of a snowstorm a few minutes ago?" 

Kakashi's stance shifted very subtly. "Is that the last thing you remember? Think carefully." 

He was serious. Also a rare occurrence. Naruto therefore did his best to accommodate his teacher's request. "Y-yes," he said finally, unable to recall anything other than the distinct impression that he was forgetting something important. "Why? What happened?" 

Kakashi simply gave him an inscrutable look, but Naruto knew him by now. That was his "That's what I'd like to know" expression. 

He tried something that might actually garner an answer. "Where are Sakura and Sasuke?" Kakashi moved just as Naruto finished asking, and he could see the unconscious forms of both of his teammates a few feet away. 

"Can you walk?" 

It was at that point that Naruto realized that Kakashi was injured. He nodded. "I think so." He was right, although he was beginning to feel the worst headache he'd ever had. "I can take care of Sasuke," he offered. 

Kakashi simply looked at him. Taking it as approval, Naruto maneuvered Sasuke across his shoulders, trying not to worsen any damage. When he looked up, Sakura was draped over Kakashi's back. "Where are we?" 

"Nearly home." 

Naruto asked no further questions. 

* * *

"You really don't remember anything?" Bright blue eyes gazed at him, overflowing with concern. 

Sasuke resisted the urge to snap and instead just shook his head slightly. "No, Ino." His ribs ached, but the minor physical addiction he'd developed to painkillers while Naruto had unwittingly drugged him meant that he couldn't have any. Neither the pain nor the withdrawal were helping his mood in the slightest. 

"But you were attacked by _somebody_." She edged closer to him. 

"Hn." He grunted noncommittally, hoping she would take it as agreement and leave. Since their return, he'd learned that Team 7 had been blindsided by one of the most impressive genjutsu he'd ever heard of. They had been moving inside an insanely complicated illusion for an entire week and none of them had seen through it. He had no idea where Kakashi had been during that time, only that he had been detained somehow but had come in at the last moment just in time to distract the enemy long enough for Naruto to make the kill. Sasuke was fairly certain that Kakashi had wanted to take the unidentified shinobi alive, but of course Naruto had gone overboard. They hadn't been able to bring back the body, either, and it had vanished by the time Leaf Anbu went out looking for it. 

"None of you know what happened?" Ino pressed. 

She was going to try to touch him, he just knew it. And he couldn't escape, since he was strictly forbidden to move more than absolutely necessary until his ribs were at least partially healed. He'd already garnered one lecture on how lucky he'd been for not having worse damage after having let himself get tossed around earlier. As if he'd had any choice in the matter. 

"Hey, Ino." Shikamaru poked his head in. "We've got stuff to do." 

"But Sasuke-kun…" Ino gestured, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. 

"You _are_ a ninja, aren't you? Come on." Shikamaru himself looked irritated at having duties to perform, but he did succeed in pulling Ino away. Sasuke heaved a sigh of relief. As he looked back towards the door, a flash of motion caught his eye. 

_Not another one._ The girls were the worst; now that they had him at their mercy, it seemed that every single one of them wanted to hear how Team 7 had been detained and possibly tortured and who knew what other rumors were circulating. And they all wanted to hear it from him. 

And then there was Sakura, who visited him almost more than all the rest put together, as if she felt guilty or something and had to make sure he was all right. Or she might just want to corner him like everyone else. 

The person stepped through the door, and Sasuke wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not. It was Naruto. The odd little feelings of protectiveness hadn't really gone away when Naruto had gotten his memory back, but Naruto remembered absolutely nothing of the time he'd spent without his memory. It was frustrating. 

"Hey." He offered the greeting when it seemed to be clear that Naruto was apparently just going to stand and stare at him. 

"Um." Naruto just looked at him, expression completely unreadable, and then fled, yanking the door shut behind him. 

Sasuke could have screamed. 

In a thoroughly uncharacteristic bout of irritation, he decided that the next person to walk into the room was going to get a pillow thrown at his head. Or her head. Preferably her. He wouldn't have followed through on the impulse if yet another person hadn't opened the door seconds after he made it. The pillow went sailing through the air and bounced off Kakashi's impassive face. 

"Uh, sorry." It was the first time he'd really seen Kakashi since the unidentified shinobi had turned up more than two weeks before; drug-dazed half-dreams and withdrawal nightmares didn't really count. 

Kakashi picked up the pillow and replaced it, looking almost amused. As far as Sasuke could tell, anyway. "Team 7 will be reactivated in two weeks. Until then, Naruto, Sakura, and myself will be performing light duties." 

Sasuke nodded. There really wasn't anything for him to say. 

"Since the attack is believed to have been instigated by missing-nin, Anbu teams have been sent to deal with the situation." He shifted his weight slightly. 

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." It occurred to Sasuke that Kakashi wasn't particularly comfortable seeing him incapacitated. He really didn't know what to do about it, though, and was rather relieved when Kakashi abruptly nodded and left. Kakashi's message did nothing to alleviate the slight but growing certainty that the attack had not in fact been random, but had had a very specific purpose. He wished he knew what that purpose was, and whether or not it had been thwarted. 

A knock on the door distracted him from his musings. "What," he answered flatly, hoping to discourage whomever it was. 

Naruto sidled into the room again. "I, um… Well… Sorry." He blushed pink and looked at his feet. 

"What?" Sasuke was completely at a loss. That had been happening a lot around Naruto lately. 

Naruto peered up at him, speaking rapidly and almost incoherently. "I keep thinking I did something to you that I shouldn't have done but I don't know what it is 'cause I can't remember anything but just in case I wanted to say I was sorry in case I really did do something that wasn't fair or anything so I really am sorry. Okay?" 

Sasuke stared at him, still having no idea how to respond. "All… right," he said after a moment, and Naruto, still blushing, nodded, mumbled something that sounded like "feel better", and fled for the second time in the space of ten minutes. 

Sasuke looked at the open door for a moment, and then resolutely turned his face away from it and closed his eyes. As protective as he might feel towards Naruto, as much as he might want to somehow reach out to the other boy, he couldn't. He still had goals to attain, a mission to accomplish, a man he had to kill. All else was secondary. Frowning slightly in concentration, he began a series of mental exercises. 

* * *

Outside the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, a set of slit-pupilled eyes watched unblinkingly. The wide mouth underneath them stretched in a parody of a smile as its owner contemplated the seeds that had been sown by his actions. He'd give the uncertainty enough time to fester, to grow strong, and then… Then he would attack. The Uchiha boy's body would be a perfect vessel. He could continue his search for immortality. The Uchiha boy would seek _him_ out, once the proper incentive was given. 

And best of all, no one suspected a thing. 

_OWARI_


	6. Epilogue

I dislike explaining myself, so I'm only going to do it once.

Yes, that was indeed Orochimaru at the end.

Yes, he did indeed set this up to get at Sasuke (and to take a look at the kyuubi's vessel as well, although it's not nearly as important as far as he's concerned).

No, there will not be a sequel.

This is intended to segue straight into the manga events occurring directly after the Zabuza/Haku arc.  It is meant to provide a sort of transition between Naruto and Sasuke behaving almost like friends during the Zabuza debacle, and then suddenly acting hyper-competitive just before the Chuunin exam starts.  

There is no need for me to write a continuation, because what was set down by Kishimoto-sensei has created and described events far better than I could hope to, and I don't want to rewrite the Chuunin exam and the following events.  They stand beautifully on their own.  I just like to offer my views and theories as to what goes on between the scenes.  I also enjoy coming up with ridiculous scenarios (such as "Team 7 Isn't In Konoha Even Though They Think They Are" or "Nearly All Of Konoha's Ninjas Suddenly Vanish For No Apparent Reason") and then trying to make fics out of them, which is where this one came from.  It's no fun for me to rewrite events which have already been dictated; there's rarely any challenge in it.

I would also like to thank all of you who took the time to review – it makes me very happy to know that I can bring a few moments of enjoyment to someone else.  In chronological order, many thanks to:

Ayako, Bishiehuggler, evafreak, Saria-the-green-haired, silverstream, JadeTiger, Morien, myth, Spinny Roses, Nemi, esaure, firedraygon97, Escuro de la Lus, Remorseful Youth, Red Rose, Ishida Kat, :D, Neko Senshi Erin, Crying Forever, TheSeer, Faith, Ithil, SW, cevgar,  ThaKat, avocado girl, Silver Dragonfly, Foxgrl, and Japime gurl.

I hope you enjoy anything further I write (or anything I've already written) as much as I enjoy (or enjoyed) writing it.  That's what this is about, really.  So – have fun!


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